The history of the Catskills is largely the story of abundant natural resources that have sustained, enriched, bedeviled and inspired us over the centuries.

The bounty of fish and wild game attracted Lenni Lenape, Munsie, Minnisink and other Native Americans from the Hudson Valley and elsewhere. They made seasonal forays into the mountains and left trails that were later used by early European pioneers who carved homesteads from the Catskill forest. Other settlers followed, lured by wealthy landowners anxious to develop the land patents they held on vast tracts across eastern New York. Small farms were established, communities grew. By the mid-1800's, tenant farmers who’d been tied to multi-generation leases on those large patents protested in what came to be called the “Anti-Rent War,”  overturning the feudal system so that they could buy their farms outright. 

Farming in the Catskills was never an easy occupation in this region, which is sometimes described as “two stones for every dirt.” Subsistence farmsteads produced milk and butter, wool and maple syrup, apples and potatoes, and during the first half of the 20th century, premium cauliflower which thrived in the mineral rich soil and the moderate Catskills climate. What the farms didn’t need they sold to non-farm neighbors, and after the railroads arrived around 1870, they found an even larger market among New York City consumers.

Although it seemed a world apart, the City was linked to the mountains in many ways. Lumber and bluestone extracted from the forests helped to build and pave New York.  Leather made in Catskill tanneries using the bark of the hemlock tree was worn on the feet of New Yorkers. City residents flocked to the Catskills to enjoy sweeping mountain views from the piazzas of grand hotels or to enjoy the simple pleasures of fresh air and farm-raised fare at family-run boarding houses. 

Artists and writers, too, found inspiration in the beauty of the region – its peaks reaching up to 4,200 feet, its pristine rivers and streams, hidden waterfalls and deep gorges. That so much of the Catskills remains in its natural state today, attracting painters and poets, anglers and ice climbers, bird watchers and snowboarders -- is largely because of the establishment of the Forest Preserve in 1904, when the State designated 250,000 acres of  Forever wild land.

The history -- and the future -- of the Catskills were radically shaped when New York City impounded six rivers and streams, creating a network of massive reservoirs to provide water for its thirsty millions. The reservoirs, draining 1,600 square miles of five counties, were built between 1905 and 1965 and displaced more than 5,500 people from 26 communities.

Water, in all its guises. 

Ancient mountains, forests and open vistas. 

Villages that proudly display and promote the heritage of generations past. 

The Catskills honors its history, and invites you to visit awhile, stay a little longer, and make some history of your own.